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Tuesday, 10 July 2012

lentil lunch

This is isn’t even a recipe really, it’s more of a
principle. So many people I know still get scared about the idea of vegan
cooking….

“It will be boring”

“It will just taste of vegetables”

Or simply…

“I just wouldn’t know what to cook!”

We my point is it’s really none of the above…ok I admit
at first it takes a little effort to get into the swing of things whether you
are fully fledged vegan or simply trying to swap a in few healthy meals each
week. It requires effort only because it’s different to how we’ve been brought
up to perceive food, different to what we’re used to doing on auto-pilot…we
need to break out of the cycle and yes that does require some effort until you
get into the zone.

I personally enjoy the challenge, and when I first
started the transition I loved the fact it forced me to think outside the box
and come up with new quirky ways to enjoy these foods and flavours. However I
fully understand that for the others that side of things just holds no
interest, food is functional and the creativity is not sparked…but that’s ok too
ya know!

So, here’s where we strip it back, keep it simple…but
tasty.

As I said, this is not so much a recipe but a principle.
A quick and easy light lunch (as it was here) or bump it up for a hearty
dinner. Combine as many colours and textures as you can with some beans of
lentils for protein, all wrapped up with some tasty seasoning and you are pretty
much there, and we all know the general principle…the more colourful a meal the
more nutritious it is. Good to remember!

I have provided the ‘recipe’ below but it felt a little
silly since the whole point is to mix it up with whatever you have to hand. This
lunch came off the back of my ‘freezer prep session’ a week or so ago, when I cooked batches of beans and lentils
(and much more) and bagged them up in potions for the freezer. I used these lentils as my main source of
protein, lovely green lentil as they hold their shape and texture so well once
cooked, I also used grated courgette for cooking speed along with a lot of
chunky chopped tomato as I had a surplus of those too and not much else in the
fridge at the time! A sprinkling of cashews
gave a satisfying finish…perfect! You could easily increase the portion size or
add some toasted pitta bread or flatbreadwith a dollop of humus at the side for some extra carbs.

(note: you could add or substitute chickpeas, grated carrot, cauliflower,
peppers, spinach…or so many more vegetables if you wished)

Method:

In a medium frying add the curry paste and grated courgette and stir fry
for a couple of minutes. Add the cooked lentils (or pre-cook in a separate saucepan)
along with the chopped tomatoes and continue to stir to warm through and allow
the tomatoes to soften down and create a flavoursome sauce. Once fully cooked
through, serve with a sprinkling of cashews.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.